Head of religious sect shot dead in Punjab

The head of a religious sect was shot dead allegedly by two unidentified assailants at Khukhrana village here.

32-year-old Parasmani Soni, head of the sect 'Dera Baba Farid', was shot dead last night while meeting his followers, police said on Sunday.

The two assailants entered his room on Dera premises and fired at him from close range before fleeing on a motorcycle, police said.

Initial investigations revealed that Parasmani did not enjoy good relations with the villagers as he was suspected to have developed "illicit relations" with a woman, according to Senior Superintendent of Police Gursharan Singh Sandhu.

Police said that Parasmani came in contact with another person of adjoining Chotiankalan village and persuaded his mother that he would construct a hospital at Khukhrana at an estimated cost of Rs 15 lakh.

The family gave him Rs 15 lakh, but he purchased a plot claiming that he would later construct the hospital to which the family members objected, they said.

He constructed his Dera on a two-acre land given by the people of Khukhrana village some five years back and his followers had multiplied in the last few years, police said.

The SSP said police were keeping a vigil on him because of his "suspicious activities".